Pneumatic tires have found many applications in a variety of vehicles, such as passenger automobiles, aircraft and industrial machinery. It is well known that a small amount of imbalance in a pneumatic tire mounted to a vehicle can cause undesirable vibration and noise when the tire is rotating at the operating speeds of the vehicle. This imbalance can be attributed to non-uniformities or imperfections in the tire wheel rim, or to imperfections or non-uniformities in the molded tire itself. Such imbalance is particularly noticeable on tires used on aircraft landing gear, due to the high wheel speeds attained during take-off and landing of the aircraft.
One approach to eliminating or reducing the effects of imbalance in formed tires has been to secure discrete patches of rubber material to the tire inner liner in an effort to offset the imbalance. This approach requires determining the amount and location of imbalance of the formed tire, typically in a dynamic testing machine. Based upon the results of the imbalance testing, a determination is made as to the location and mass of the patch material needed to counteract the imbalance of the tire. The inner surface of the tire is thereafter cleaned at the appropriate location, typically using an organic solvent, and the patch is adhered at the desired location. Rubber patches commonly used for balancing tires are generally provided in fixed weight increments, thereby limiting the precision to which the imbalance may be corrected, and requiring users to maintain an inventory of patches in various sizes.
The present invention seeks to provide a balance material that can be added to the inner liner of pneumatic tires to more easily and more precisely correct tire imbalance and to eliminate the need for maintaining an extensive inventory of balance patches.